The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1887-08-24
GREAT CROOKS.
Romantic Ideas Dispeled by an
Old Criminal.
The Skill and Courage of Craftsmen Great
Iy Exaggerated--C Grimes Not Prof
itable--Noted ForSers
and Burglars.


Great criminals are few in number
You read Of great crimes sometimes,
and hear of their perpetrators being
tried, but the facts adduced in the trials
and the puuishments inflicted are ridic-
ulously disproportionatet to the otfonses
of which one hears so much. There is a
certain literature-or is it literature?-
which purports to tell about criminals.
In reality it extols detectives, who exalt
the qualities of the class whose deeds
they profess to detect l have been
reading-and suppose everybody has
been reading. too-about great GRIM
inals in the newspapers. The boast
fulncss of the detective and the mag
nation of the reporter have combined
to make some interesting reading, but
if you recall what you have read you
will find that very few great
criminals have been told about,
and apart from murders very few
great crimes have been committed.
One or two professional forgers, q half
score of burglars, cluster of twenty
five confidence men, and the whole list
is exhausted. The fact is there is no
such army of criminals fertile of ex-
pedient, ready of device, watchful Of
every chance to break in and steal, as
the police would have you believe. A
great many people are repeatedly dis
honest, but the professional burglar
who "burgles' only for living, the
forger who contemplates a second
forgery before he expends the profits
of his first, is rare article. and nine
crimes out of ten against property are
incidents or eddes in the current of
life created by purely adventurous cir
cumstances. and not part of the regular
flow of the stream, much as they inter-
fere with and disturb it.
The detective will deny this, although
he knows it is true, and in his denial
point you to the careers of Sheridan,
Porter, Brady, Brockaway, Elliot and
half dozen others who are dis
tingushed in crime. It's funny that
some of them are not paying penalty
of their varied wickedness by long
terms of Imprisonment. The fact re-
mains that they are not,
and either the detective can't
convict of what he cha, ges, or the
criminal does not commit so freely as
he is charged withal. The latter is the
case. Jimmy Hope, who aided in carry
ing out fabulous number of millions
from the Manhattan Bank, had to steal
for living within ten months or work.
He couldn't have had much out of the
great robbery. The Kensington Bank
burglars, who also got millions, didn't
profit much if their subsequent condi-
ton is faithfully reported, for one or
two of them were soon in prison for
very trifling offenses, and another died
IN great poverty in charity asylum.
The fact of it is there is no such thing
as profitable rognery-or robbery-by
any of the means used by the profess
slonal "crook." The reason is not
found in the fact that he is improvident
or extravaganza, or that his legal ex-
penses eat up his returns. He simply
doesn't have any such returns as he is
credited with, and which the police
advertise for him and the losers too
frequently and untruthfully clamor
about.
l was looking over the criminal list
the other day of the convicted profess
SIGNALS confined in New York State.
They were numerous enough, but they
were contemptibly small. To make
your Vidocq you must have first your
great criminal and his great crime.
lhe American Vidocq makes himself,
with these two essentials left out;
and having opportunity to talk
with one of the alleged great criminals
he confirmed my belief in the vision
airy character of these shrewd and
clever rascals with no greater effort
,han revealing his own stupidity. l
hunted up another. a professional who
mas repeated his offenses sufficiently to
eniitle him to any other distinction
than that of an honest man, / would
mention that he wears stripes now,
except that it might draw from the
value OF his statements in the minds
OF some who are too easily prejudiced.
anyway, he is better authority than
The police, whose vanity in their own
capacity may be proper pride, but
leads to some mighty tall lying.
The fact is that professional thieves
and rogues are not numerous in any
locality, and if crime were the sole
source of sunpnrt fN, fba fo,,, Ls,~l.l